


The Boy Who Could Have Been King

by hannahindie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Jack kline - Freeform, Nephilim, Sam Winchester - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, angsty, au!bobby singer - Freeform, han writes the thing, spn fanfic, supernatural fanfiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 04:59:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16968132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahindie/pseuds/hannahindie
Summary: Sam refuses to let Jack sacrifice himself because the group thinks that’s the only way to defeat Michael and get Dean back. Jack doesn’t understand, and Sam explains to him that he doesn’t have to be what everyone expects him to be.





	The Boy Who Could Have Been King

The bunker echoed with a thunderous din, voices drowning out voices, arguments about what to do and how to do it. The building had not seen this amount of activity since the days of the original Men of Letters, and, even then, it was a far less vocal affair.

“We have to go after him!” one of the younger survivors shouted out.

“How? He’s an _archangel_ and the only weapon we had is dead. Gabriel is gone, and Jack…” heads turned to face the nephilim who was standing gingerly off to the side. “We have no options.”

“Seeing as how he’s wearing one of the Winchesters, maybe we can use that to our advantage-”

“I ain’t so sure that’s a good idea.” Bobby’s voice cut through the chatter, “I don’t know these boys, but from the little I’ve been around ‘em, they ain’t about to let you come after them or their own. Y’all need to figure out a different approach.” 

“Then why don’t you come up with something?” The younger man from earlier snapped and Bobby glared at him.

“Listen to me, boy, I didn’t put up with that mouth on the other side, and I ain’t gonna do it now. This ain’t some kind of milk run, it’s gonna take planning.” His gaze shifted to Jack, “Son, we’re gonna need to power you up.”

Cas moved closer to Jack, his eyes narrowed, “What does that mean?”

“We need grace, and lots of it. That ought to be enough to get the ol’ refrigerator running again.”

“That is not a feasible plan. In this world, angels are nearly extinct. The ones that are left are keeping Heaven running, and doing a poor job of it. They are tired, drained…there is nothing left to take. I would not allow it, regardless. Even if we can get the amount we needed, it would do irreparable damage to Jack. He may be a nephilim, but in his weakened state, it would kill him.”

“I think we’ve got more pressin’ matters, like the fate of the whole damn world-”

“I’ll do it.” For a moment, the room fell silent at Jack’s quiet declaration. He looked up from staring at his feet and around the room, “I’ll find a way to get my power back, and I’ll fight Michael. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The room filled with quiet murmurs, and Jack looked around at them, the people he had fought with time and time again while in the Bad Place. “I’ll do whatever it takes to defeat him and get Dean back. We owe that to him. I owe that to him.” He looked at Cas, “Where do we start?”

“No.” The voice was low, but commanding. Jack turned to the source and saw Sam sitting at the war room table, his arms crossed on the dimly lit surface as he stared down at it.

“What?”

“I said no.” He looked up, his eyes tired and bloodshot, “You’re not going to do that, Jack.”

“Why not? You taught me that I could be good, that I could help people. Dean finally had faith in me! I can do this, Sam!”

“I…said… _no_.” It came out as a growl as he shoved away from the table and stood up. The people closest to him stumbled backwards as they all looked up at the towering hunter. “I am tired of us sacrificing ourselves and each other. You’re not doing it.” He stormed off and down the hallway and the shocked silence remained until Bobby cleared his throat and announced that it was time to rest, and that they would figure it out in the morning. 

* * *

A quiet knock interrupted Sam’s thoughts and he sat up with a sigh, “Come in.”

The door opened slowly and Jack stepped in. “I feel like I’ve upset you,” he said as he carefully shut the door behind him.

“I’m not…it wasn’t you. It’s the situation.” Jack stood awkwardly at the end of the bed, his arms hanging at his sides as he looked at Sam. “You can sit down, Jack.”

Jack pulled out Sam’s desk chair and sat down, “What do you mean…the situation?”

Sam ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes tiredly, “It’s just…they expect that from you. The world expects you to go to these great lengths, to sacrifice or destroy yourself for the greater good. Because you’re a nephilim, your fate has been decided for you. And it’s bullshit.”

“But…would you do anything you could to save Dean? If you had powers, or a way to get them back, wouldn’t you?”

Sam looked up at Jack, his eyes full of something Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I did, Jack. I _did_ do that once.” Jack tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowed, but remained silent. “I had a destiny, a specific job that I was supposed to fill. Dean and I both did. He did a hell of a lot better of a job than me.” He sighed as he thought about both of their so called destinies and how the second half of it was finally playing out. “Not many people know this, but I was…I guess, recruited, by the demon Azazel. From the time I was a baby, I had this…this role…forced upon me. I was supposed to be a monster, Jack. I was supposed to work with Azazel and lead the demons in a battle that we eventually stopped. All of it was because of some deal I had nothing to do with.”

“But you said you didn’t do it, so…why are you upset?”

Sam dropped his gaze to his hands, his fingernail scratching at the side of his thumb and picking at the skin there. “Because Dean died. He was dragged to hell, and I was left alone. And I tried and I tried to find a way to bring him back and still help the world, and the only way I knew how to do that was to give in to my destiny. I just thought I could control it. I built my powers up, and I tried, as best as I could, to use them for good. Jack, I had every intention to do good, to do what needed to be done when I couldn’t get Dean back. But I trusted the wrong person, and everything went wrong. _Everything_. I lied to Dean, I lied to my…” he paused, as if thinking of how to say it, then cleared his throat, “my dad. And I lied to myself.” He looked back up at Jack, “Do you know why Lucifer is out now?” Jack shook his head. “He’s out because I was the first one to let him out. It was my fault.”

“Cas said he’d been back in the cage, though, he told me-”

“He was. Because I accepted the other half of my destiny and said yes to being his vessel. I got him back in there, though that wasn’t permanent. My point, Jack, is your destiny does not define you. Your powers, they don’t define you. What does define is you is how you act, how you treat others. What you love and how you show it. _That_ is what makes you, you. And yea, your powers are incredibly useful. They could help us save Dean and beat Michael. But you don’t need them.”

“What do I do?”

Sam shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s up to you. What I do know is that when I had this decision to make, I was young. I was angry.” He smiled slightly, “I was kinda like you. You can’t let that dictate your life, man. You can’t. I know it sucks having a dad like yours; it makes it seem like your lot in life is set. But you can change that. Despite the mistakes I made, I didn’t turn into the monster I was expected to be. I didn’t give in to the darkness that flowed through me, and I didn’t let my anger ignite it. You don’t have to let anyone tell you what you have to do. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself to save people, or lose who you want to be because of it. We’ll find another way, Jack. I did it, and so will you.”

Jack nodded, “I…I think I understand.” He stood up and walked to the door, then paused and turned back, “You are a good person, Sam. I hope you realize that.” He gave a small smile, then walked out. Sam stared at the closed door for a moment, and let his words echo in his mind.


End file.
